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Photo By: Clay Westcott

20-year-old rising star Audrey Mika kicks off 2021 by releasing her infectious new track "Excuses." Hopefully just her first taste of music for us this year, "Excuses," is a cheery and bouncy creation filled with trap beats and booming bass drums. Despite Audrey's upbeat performance, her lyrics tell a slightly different story. She seems to find herself caught in a situation where she can't bring herself to open up to her current romantic interest (due to previous bad dating experiences perhaps), but risks ruining the relationship if she doesn't do so. In the second verse, Audrey sings, "I'm always shutting you out / each time you're coming around / because every time I get close / somebody's letting me down."

Hailing from the Bay Area, California, Audrey first rose to prominence as a YouTube sensation who can often be found singing covers into a plastic microphone in her videos. Her fantastic singing ability is certainly showcased on her YouTube channel, as she sings each rendition in one take and uses no audio editing (aside from a little reverb). She has amassed over 1.55 million YouTube subscribers and even wrote and recorded original projects "Are We There Yet" and "Level Up" entirely on GarageBand before signing with RCA Records.

The release of "Excuses" also comes with a brand new music video. Although the video is clearly a quarantine production (all the extras are plastic mannequins), Audrey and director Brent Campenelli have created a timeless and heartfelt production where Audrey - as she suggests she might do in the song - makes up the excuse of needing to go to the hair salon to avoid sharing her authentic self with her current suitor.

Watch the music video and listen to "Excuses" below: